Curriculum Instruction & Assessment
Part I - Alignment
By
Tina Waddy
Defining Curriculum
Standards
• Set of standards placed
• All curriculums are
in order according to
supposed to spiral up
cognitive levels and age.
like a slinky connecting
knowledge and
reasoning.
• Set a hierarchy of
knowledge for students
to learn.
State Curriculum
• Created by Texas Education Agency.
• Defines state standards for all districts to follow.
Districts Curriculum
• Created by local districts in the state of Texas.
Example – PreKinder and Bilingual Curriculum
• Streamlines the state standards often aligning
instruction to the TAKS test based on data.
Campus Curriculum
• Reorganizes the district and state curriculum based on
testing, and benchmark data.
– Includes local standards which help fill in holes in
the curriculum.
Why do we do all of this?
– Desire the curriculum to be aligned and manageable.
Curriculum Alignment
State
TEKS/TAKS
District
Campus /
Classroom
A
L
I
G
N
M
E
N
T
Quality
Student
Performance
Classroom Instruction
Curriculum Planning Cycle
Varies Based Student’s Needs
TEKS/TAKS
Goals
Objectives
Strategies
and Activities
Instruction Cycle to Promote
Resources
and Materials
Success for All Students
Assessment
and Feedback
Planning Instruction
• Plan with your team, if possible. (Across content areas & grade levels.)
– Create a unit overview for the nine weeks.
– Think about what the students already know, and what they
need to know for the next grade level up. (Try to link the
knowledge.)
•
Determine the appropriate level of instruction. (Don’t teach over
their heads!)
– Focus on objectives at the skill level. (i.e. The student needs to…)
– Determine the length of time needed to teach the skill. (Don’t
assess too quickly.)
Planning Instruction
• Begin with the first objective of the unit overview.
– Remember to focus on objectives at the skill level which should be the
grade level (i.e. The student needs to…)
• Gather primary resources before, and while you plan.
– (Materials that help you teach core instruction.)
• Plan core instruction to allot for proper instructional time
(Usually determined by the campus):
– Block Scheduling (90 minutes)
– Seven Period Day (55 minutes)
– Elementary
•
•
•
•
Balanced Literacy Block (2 Hours 45 Minutes)
Math Instruction (1 Hour 45 Minutes)
Science Instruction (45-55 Minutes)
Social Studies Instruction (45-55 Minutes)
Thinking First as an Assessor
Curriculum Planning Cycle
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
Assessment
TAKS
Resources
and Materials
Instruction Cycle to Promote
Varies Based on Student’s Needs
Strategies
and Activities
Success for All Students
Student
Expectation
Begin with the End in Mind
Thinking First as an Assessor
Thinking Then as a Designer
• Based on TEKS/TAKS, what will
students be tested over, and at
what level (Bloom’s)?
• What would be interesting,
revealing activities to help assure
this learning?
• What performance task(s) will
best support learning and focus
the instructional work?
• Will these activities work? Why
or why not?
• What resources and materials are
available?
• How will I be able to distinguish
between those who really
understand and those who don’t?
• What will students be doing in
and out of class? What
assignments will be given?
Lesson Planning Formats
Madeline Hunter’s Design
Ten Comprehensive Steps
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Objective
Student Expectation
Anticipatory Set
Teaching: Input
Teaching: Modeling
Teaching: Questioning / Check
Guided Practice
Independent Practice
Closure
Formal Assessment
The 5E Model of Instruction
Five Comprehensive Steps
–
–
–
–
–
Engage
Explore
Explain
Extend
Evaluate
Taking a Closer Look at Both
Side by Side
They Aren’t So Different
Madeline
1. Objective
2. Student Expectation
5E Model of Instruction
“TEKS” or “Learning Objective”
“The student will…”
3. Anticipatory Set
Engage
4. Teaching: Input
Explore
5. Teaching: Modeling
Explain
6. Teaching: Questioning / Check
for Understanding
Explain / Explore
(Formative Assessments)
7. Guided Practice
Extend
8. Independent Practice
Extend
9. Closure
10. Summative Assessment
Sum it up!
Evaluate
Engage = Anticipatory Set
Teacher Should
Students Should
– Motivate
– Listen Attentively
– Create Interest
– Ask Questions
– Tap into Students Knowledge
– Demonstrate Interest in the Topic
– Question and Encourage
– Respond to Questions and
Responses
Demonstrate Their Entry Point of
Understanding
Results
– Generate Interest
– Access Prior Knowledge
– Connect to Past Knowledge
– Set Parameters for the Focus
– Frame the Idea
Explore = Teaching: Input
Teacher Should
– Act as Facilitator
– Observe and Listen to
Students as They Work
– Ask Inquiry-Oriented
Questions
– Provide Time for Students to
Think
– Encourage Cooperative
Learning
Students Should
– Predict, Form Hypotheses, or
Make Generalizations
– Share Ideas and Suspend
Judgment
– Record Observations
– Discuss Alternatives
Results
– Probe, Inquire, and Question
Experiences
– Examine Their Thinking
– Establish Relationships and
Understanding
Explain = Teaching: Modeling
Teacher Should
– Encourage Students to Explain
Their Observations in Their
Own Words
– Provide Definitions, New
Words, and Explanations
– Listen and Build Upon
Discussion for Students
– Ask for Clarification and
Justification
– Accept Reasonable Responses
Students Should
– Explain, Listen, Define and
Question
– Use Previous Observations
and Findings
– Provide Reasonable
Responses
– Interact in a Positive and
Responsible Manner
Results
– Connect Prior Knowledge and
Background to New
Discoveries
– Communicate New
Understanding
– Connect Informal Language to
Formal Language
Extend = Guided Practice
Teacher Should
Students Should
– Use Previously Learned
– Apply New Terms and
Information as a vehicle to
Definitions
Enhance Additional Learning
– Use New Information to
– Encourage Students to Apply
Probe, Ask Questions, and
or Extend the New Concepts
Make Reasonable Judgments
and / or Skills
– Provide Reasonable
– Encourage Students to Use
Conclusions and Solutions
Terms and Definitions
– Record Observations,
Previously Acquired
Explanations, and Solutions
Results
– Apply New Learning to a New or
Similar Situation
– Extend and Explain Concepts
Being Explored
– Communicate New
Understanding with New
Language
Evaluate = Summative Assessment
Teacher Should
– Observe Student Behaviors as
They Explore and Apply New
Concepts and Skills
– Assess Student’s Knowledge
and Skills
– Encourage Students to Assess
Their Own Learning
– Ask Open-ended Questions
Students Should
– Demonstrate an Understand or
Knowledge of Concept and
Skill
– Evaluate His/Her Own
Progress
– Answer Open-ended
Questions
– Provide Reasonable
Responses and Explanations
Results
– Students Assess Understanding
– Demonstrate Understanding of
New Concept by Observation or
Open-ended Response
– Show Evidence of
Accomplishment
Explicit Instruction
What is explicit instruction?
Leave No Stone Unturned
Moving to Abstract
Relating to Lesson Planning
• Direct Instruction occurs in both the 5E Model and
Madeline Hunter’s Design.
– Teachers impart knowledge and understanding to students
(new information).
– Madeline Hunter - Input, Modeling and Check for
Understanding
– 5E Model – Explain and Extend
• These sections should be explicit and to the point.
Differentiated Activities
• Differentiate strategies / activities around the following groups:
– English Language Learners (Vocabulary Support)
– Tier III – Struggling Students (Re-teach)
– Special Needs Students (Hands-on)
Getting Started!